Better Work Haiti: 1st Biannual Synthesis Report

The present report illustrates the findings of the assessments carried out by Better Work Haiti between October and December 2009 in 21 factories employing a total of 22,172 workers, of the approximately 26,000 workers in the industry nationwide. The sample is characterized by factories employing an average of 1056 regular workers, 62% of whom are women. The data collected illustrate compliance with labour standards according to eight clusters: four based on ILO core labour standards regarding child labour, forced labour, discrimination and freedom of association and collective bargaining, and four indicators of working conditions (compensation, contracts and human resources, occupational safety and health, and working time). Most non-compliance in the Haiti garment industry relates to the latter set of indicators of working conditions and not the core labour standards. Regarding the core labour standards, there are no findings of non-compliance concerning child labour. Concerning forced labour, it was observed that workers in two factories were restricted from leaving the workplace. In one third of factories, non-compliance findings regarding discrimination were noted due to language used in recruitment materials. Nine factories were also cited as noncompliant within the freedom of association and collective bargaining cluster due to restricted access for union representatives to the workplace.